RISE
by sabby56
Summary: Rise: verb \ˈrīz\ - to move forward. It's what he wanted out of his career. It's what she wanted out of life.
1. Chapter 1

One

 **you excited brother?**

 **can't wait to see you on the telly!**

 **tell that hot box Randy I said 'ello**

 **stop ignoring me! i know your ringer is on**

 **'ello**

 ** _'ELLO!_**

The texts came into his mobile with a loud chirp, reaching into his blazer Fergal thumbed through his messages with a smile. His sister, Emily was over eager and overzealous as always. He paused outside of the locker room for a quick reply.

 **Jus' getting to the arena. Yes I'm excited, can't wait for you to see me & YOU'RE A MARRIED WOMAN EM! Calm your hormones! **

He smirked pressing SEND. It took seconds for her response.

 **you ass just tell the fella i said hi!**

He chuckled half-heartily.

 **I'll see what I can do.**

Leaving it at that, Fergal locked his phone before stuffing it back into his pocket. Taking a deep breath Fergal set his hand on the door knob to the men locker room. This was it, today was the beginning to the rest of his life. _Just breathe Devitt, breathe._ New places always brought Fergal the jitters. He couldn't explain why, he'd been in this profession for most of his life but there was just something about new ground that released butterflies throughout his entire being.

"Hey, it's the new guy" the door opened before Fergal could push it in, and out stepped Claudio. "My friend," he embraced Fergal in a familiar hug, "it has been a long time".

"It has, how're you?" Fergal walked into the room, with a pat on his shoulder the veteran directed him to an empty locker in the corner.

"I am fine my friend, set up here" Claudio instructed, taking a seat on the bench he waited as Fergal settled in. "I am 'specially glad now that you are here".

"Yeah?" Fergal laughed lightly, dumping his boots and kick pads to the floor of the wooden locker. "I thought you'd be nervous that I'd kill your run".

"Nothing better than new competition" Claudio pushed Fergal on the shoulder, "besides I'm not the same Swiss bastard you faced all those years ago".

"I hope not," Fergal moved to sit next to his old friend. "That guy was a real arse..."

"You paddies and your off sense of humor".

They bumped shoulders as Fergal continued to empty his bag, locating his trunks for the night and some warm up gear before the show took off. "Is it always this quiet 'round 'ere?" The locker room was practically empty except for two other superstars, who greeted him faintly upon his appearance but otherwise kept to themselves. "Not exactly what I was expecting".

"That's because you're early Fergal-boy". Claudio stood up, making a grab for his head phones and iPod. "Give it a few minutes and this place will become alive, until then I'll be going for a run, yeah, why don't you finish getting settled in and come find me when you're done. I'll bet you a pretty pound that I can still out run your arse without a sweat".

"Ha!" A wide grin spread across the Irishman's face. "I'll take you up on that".

"Alright pretty boy." The Swiss superstar tucked his iPod away and headed for the door. "I'll see you in a few".

At the bottom of his bag Fergal found his old NIKE's he'd been sporting since senior year of high school and set them on the floor.

 **yeah you had better**

Emily's text came through once he'd powered his phone back on. He typed quickly on the keys.

 **Be lucky I love you**

Hitting SEND again, Fergal placed his phone on the top shelf and started to undress. He changed quickly ignoring the rush of text coming in from Emily and laced his running shoes.

"Fergal?" A dark hand outstretched itself in his line of vision. Fergal looked up to find a bulldozer of a man fitted into a grey track suit stand before him. "It's good to meet ya' man. I'm a huge fan".

"Uh, thanks ... Big E, right?"

The big man scratched at his frohawk. "Yeah," their hands locked into a shake. "Name is Ettore actually but you can just call me E, the rest of the guys do".

"Well then its good to meet you E".

A huge smiled stretched across Ettore's face and he took to emptying his luggage in the locker across from Fergals, "you excited about your first day?" He called from over his shoulder.

Fergal stood, mindlessly setting a play-list in his phone. "Absolutely" his accent was thick as he muttered the word. He figured his music selection was as good as it was going to get for an hour workout.

"You're all this place has been talking about for the past month." Fergal caught the last of what Ettore was saying. "Cant wait to watch your debut."

"Thanks man. I 'ppreciate it truly but I'm," he motioned towards the door. "S'posse to catch up with Claudio soon". He didn't want to be rude but the locker room was starting to fill up and he knew from past experience that all the good places to warm up would be of short supply soon.

"No man I understand, hey I'll find you later, yeah?"

"Sure," Fergal nodded, taking his leave. "Looking forward to it". Outside a rush of Superstars and Divas passed him by, eager to unload, some to unwind before the show got started. He received a few stares and smiles along the corridor as he tried to locate Claudio in the mass. The stares were getting to be a bit much as people started to gawk in his direction, he tried his best to put on a friendly smile but eventually nerves took over and he retrieved his phone. Reading Emily's rants would be better he decided.

 **U'v got me wife in a frenzy ya' right bastard** A text from his brother in law, Phillip, appeared instead.

 **who the bloody hell is Randy?**

 **Shld I be worried**

 **Tonk and Perry say hello btw**

 **luck tonight n remember to be safe**

His thumb swiped across a few keys before he found himself at the entrance of the stage, **nothing to worry about you git, and thanks I will... ;)** He looked down towards the ring to find a couple hands setting up for the show tonight. Thankful to be out off the rush backstage he made his way down to the crew.

"'Ello boys," he caught sight of two females and smiled sheepishly, "and ladies" he added. "Mind if I join you?" They looked at each other in surprised unison.

"...Sure" one of them, Andre his badge read, responded.

"Thanks" he hoped that Claudio would make an appearance soon but until then he minded the crew, helping to unfold the ring mat, spreading it among the squared circle. He was fully aware that this was not his job, but coming over from the Japan where everyone helped everyone it was itched into his nature; and besides he enjoyed it. The time seemed to pass hurriedly and before he knew it, the ring and first few rows of chairs were set up.

"Hey thanks for the help," Andre appeared at his side at the end of the ramp. "I'm Andre by the way".

"Its nice to meet you Andre. Fergal" Fergal introduced himself, with a firm grip of the hand.

"Oh I know who you are, everyone knows who you are man." Andre trailed off with a slight laugh "but seriously thanks again, I'm looking forward to having you around".

"Yeah?"

"Yeah man," Andre patted him on the back. They made short talk as some of the tech guys started up the boards and worked on the lights. Andre got a call to make his way to the back, leaving Fergal to watch the lesser known people put the show together.

"You worthless shit," Claudio's voice rang out from the stands. "You're doing a worthless job of finding me".

Fergal met him at the rail, smiling "I was unaware this was a game of cat and mouse, you puss".

"Either way you're doing a terrible job. Now do you wanna go 'head and give me, me money now or later?"

"Best 2 outta 3," Claudio's heavy Swiss accent panted as they finally stopped to catch their breath. Fergal shook his head, trying to reign in his laughter.

"No way, that wasn't 'part of the deal," he leaned against the high glass window, relishing in the coolness against his hot neck, "I tell ya' what though mate... instead of paying me that pound I'll take a round of drinks later on t'night, yeah".

"Come on..." Claudio tried again, "2 outta 3! I'll make it worth ye' while".

"No... no, smart men quit while 'dere ahead, 'sides I need to get ready for tonight".

"I guess... we'll discuss those round o'drinks later though".

"Yes, right after you buy 'em ya' cheap arse. Now come on, we've got a show to get ready for".


	2. Chapter 2

Two

"Nikki" John tirelessly tried. They were having one of those conversations, and like always it rubbed her the wrong way. He sighed once more as her pulled into a spot to park. "Nikki will you please talk to me".

She opened the door in response. Instead she made an exit from the black pickup truck where she retrieved her bags before he could say another word. John closed his eyes, dropping his head on the steering wheel, fighting to keep his composure. "Fine then," he finally relented. John rolled down the window yelling at her retreating form. "BE THAT WAY! _"_

Nicole paused briefly in her tracks, her lips forming a reply but at the last moment thought better of it and continued into the building. She would not waste her time anymore. There was no use.

Since her sister's wedding last weekend, she and John could not seem to get on the same page. She had to give him credit though. He tried, he really did but she could not get over the fact that her little sister was now happily married. Not that she wasn't happy - because she was, but it was a smack in the face to realize Brianna would have something she never would.

And maybe Brianna wasn't her little sister by much - just seventeen minutes and ten seconds but the fact of the matter was that everyone around her was married.

Her sister.

Her brother.

Even her friends enjoyed the privilege of marriage; no matter how dysfunctional they seemed at times. And as crazy as it sounded Nicole wanted that. She wanted someone to call her own and John did not. He theorized that he couldn't, not after the disaster of his first marriage. He preferred to keep things _simple_ and _fun._ A relationship without the true commitment - one without a real future was more like it. She shouldn't be mad - couldn't was a better term. John laid the ground rules out from the beginning.

He was done with marriage, and he was not parental material. Period.

"Hey girly," A voice behind her broke her musings.

"Nattie".

"Girly," The Canadian greeted in response, squeezing one half of the Bella twins tightly before stepping back. "It's so good to see you again" she latched onto Nicole's arm and proceeded towards the woman's locker room. "And don't give me that crap about it only being a week since Brie's wedding, which was absolutely beautiful by the way," they found empty lockers side by side and started to unpack, "but with me down in Florida with TJ, it's felt like ages since I've seen you girls". Natalya glanced around the room taking in the four other women who seemed to be in their own world. "But ya'know TJ has a match tonight, and of course I'm stuck - I shouldn't say stuck, of course I'm not stuck with my husband ... in that way but you know what I mean, right? I mean how do they expect me to move up the ranks here if they wont even let me compete. Valet is only useful..."

Natalya continued on with her complaints while Nicole tried to keep her composure. All she could really think about is how Natalya should be grateful to have someone like TJ by her side. Sure, they argued like cats and dogs sometimes but at the end of the day there was no mistaking the love between the two.

"... he thinks it's such a great idea too..."

Nicole found a hair tie and dismissively tossed her hair into an untidy bun before unzipping her skirt on the side.

"What do you think I should do?"

"Just hang in there Nattie" Nicole tried to ensure positively in her automatic tone but Natalya ranted about the same issues all the time, and today was just not Nicole's day to be bothered with other people's drama. "You have nothing to worry about. You're one of the greatest in the ring. You and-".

"TJ will work it out. Yeah, I know. Nikki you always say that".

"Then why do you have such a hard time believing it?"

"What's crawled up your ass today?" Natalya watched as Nicole chucked her bag into the empty locker before sitting down with a thump. "Are you okay?" The blonde took a seat beside Nicole, reaching over to wrap her arm around her shoulders.

"It's nothing" Nicole lied. She was becoming surprisingly good at that. She lied to everyone; all for his sake. John was a sweet guy. He was good in more ways than bad, there was no denying that but when it came to his relationships with women he tended to fall short. At first Nicole didn't mind because she wasn't looking for anything serious, especially with her career just taking off, but as time passed - she made the mistake that most people tended to do and fell in love. She thought that maybe over time John would feel the same way - bend his rules a bit and come to think of her the way she thought of him constantly. He wasn't completely irrational, and admitted that he did care for her on a serious level but that came with a grain of salt because he could never "love her in that way". A pulse at her temple jumped at the memory.

 _"In that way"._

For so long she sacrificed her own happiness with hopes that John would come around. It hurt like hell when she realized that was all their relationship would ever come to be. A constant sacrifice. "I'm fine".

"You're lying" Natalya was strangely good at reading people, so she knew without digging too deep that something was definitely amiss. "But if you don't want to talk about it right now," she shrugged the shoulder Nicole wasn't leaning on, "I understand".

"Thanks" Nicole released a sigh she didn't know she was holding. Sometimes it was best not to talk about things. She couldn't even be sure if this was really the end between her and John. There was no reason to cause a fuss about it, especially at work.


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Stretching his legs out as far as they'd go, Fergal reached for the floor. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" he stood straight. _inhale, exhale_ He reached for the floor once more, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5".

 _I said the kids don't, the kids don't stand a chance._ The lyrics rang through his headphones, the song doing its duty in blocking out the craziness from backstage. The crew was just finishing up last minute tasks when Fergal found this spot tucked into the corners of the stairwell, the low lights hid him off in the shadows - allowing him solace to collect his mind. The show's signature did a run through an hour ago, since then a small crowd gathered in the arena. From his point he could hear them bustling about, coming alive with excitement.

The hairs on his neck stood at attention. Fergal tried to push the nerves to the back of his mind, but he couldn't ignore his pounding heart. In just a few minutes he'd make his official appearance to a live WWE audience. The thought alone was enough to send a cold chill down his spine. He lifted his leg on the rail before bending in a squat. _Just breath Devitt._

 _Inhale_

 _Exhale_

"Don't choke Fergy boy" Claudio teased as they made their way back to the locker room, earlier. It felt like years ago to Fergal who watched the ticking clock in front of him. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..."

 _You're a top performer Fergal, one of the best in the business - there's nothing to fear. You've got this. You've. Got. This._ Empowering words defied his nerves.

"Fergal?" The song came to an end just in time for him to hear his name being called. He removed the ear buds.

"Lad?"

"Jame's looking for you," the boy, an intern no more than twenty Fergal would've guessed, pointed in the general direction of where he should head next. "Said he would like to talk to you before your match".

"Yeah," Fergal picked his towel off the ground and followed the kid to the office of James Kislow. He knocked once before he got the okay to come in. "'Ello, you wanted see me Jimmy?"

James Kislow, Director of Talent Development motioned towards the empty seat beside his, "how ya' doing Devitt? Ready for tonight?"

"As I'll ever be".

"Nervous?" He guessed, to which Fergal nodded begrudgingly. James chuckled, turning towards the make shift table, he picked up a piece of paper and handed it over. "Us higher ups have been talking to creative a lot lately and we've decided to make some changes. So I'm just giving everyone on my roster a quick update. Basically the creative team has been getting a lot of flack from most of the talent and so they've decided to put the ball in you alls court." Fergal nodded in reply keeping along so far, "now they're willing to work with you all and make changes you agree to but for the most part, it's your show".

"Dat means...?"

"Means you're in charge of your character, your gimmick and story for the most part," James expressed. "It's this new thing we're trying out. Seems the fans know more and more each day - more than what they use to and since we pride ourselves on giving the 'Universe' what they want ..." He left it hanging in the air for Fergal to interpret. "However, just so we're clear this does not guarantee you a shot at a title just because you want it or for the sake of it - a main event match at Mania. You're work ethic and deliverance will still play a major role in that area. But if you go out there and win your matches, put on a good show then everything should line up accordingly. You understand?"

"I tink so," Fergal stood up. "Will dat be all?"

James nodded, "for the most part, yeah," he stood following Fergal out into the hall. "Good luck out there, alright?" He patted him on the back once more, motioning for another guy to come in. "Matt my man, come on in".

Looking down at the paper, Fergal skimmed over what he and James discussed. He started to fold it when he felt the slightest bump to his shoulder.

"Sorry" a girl with dark hair muttered rushing past him. "S'okay," He responded but not fully catching a good look at her.

The arena was filling to its capacity quickly, he could hear as cheers for respective Superstars and Divas reached his ears. The time was vastly descending upon his debut. Some added pressure was there as he was set to open the show against Stu.

Claudio patted his back upon his appearance, shaking Fergal from the confinements of this thoughts. "My friend, you start the show tonight and I just wanted to say, in all seriousness," Claudio's smirk formed into a true satisfied smile. "I am glad you are here," he clapped Fergals' back soundly. "Really".

Fergal watched him for a moment, waiting for the bout of laughter that usually followed but when none came he took a step back. Claudio was being serious. "Stay safe out there and have a great show". The show's theme rumbled through the arena drowning the last of what Claudio said, but Fergal got the message loud and clear. He nodded his thanks as talent from each side started to trifle about when Stu's theme played. It was time. "Break a leg my friend".

There was a split second of silence where he could hear the underlying rumble of the crowd. In all his life, he never thought he'd make it to this stage of his career. Once crowned an Indie King, he never thought he'd have the opportunity to show a larger stage what he could truly do. _Give them 110%._ _Give them hell._

The first beat of his song dropped. "One..." inhale, "Two..." he stepped out from behind the curtain, "Three." The roar of the crowd paused his step as he took in the thousands of faces in attendance. The nerves in his stomach swarmed around until they wrestled into feelings of excitement, and he smiled.

"And his opponent," Lillian's voice rang over all the noise taking place inside the Pepsi Arena, "From Bray County, Ireland - _Finn Balor_!"


End file.
